Nintendo Says Switch Success Is Due To Clear Marketing, As Opposed To Wii U's Failure

I think having commercials that don't make everyone cringe gave the Switch an advantage that the Wii U was never given

The Wii U wrote a whole new bible on things you can fail at when launching a product.

They really should have called the wiiu something else. I didn't own a wii and just like most people assumed the wiiu was just a fancy new controller for the wii

Wii U marketing was horrible.
Most accessories were called Wii-something, so the name Wii U was confusing.
The console was too expensive.
No support.
No original Zelda until after the death of the Wii U.
The controller that looked like it was made by Smoby.
The screen on the game pad was a bad idea. It added possibilities like the DS/3DS, but with a TV and a controller, you can't possibly look at both at the same time.

So, no, the switch's success is not only marketing. They had an incredible lineup the first year, the best console concept ever, they reduced the gap with Sony and Microsoft

Whilst definitely one of the factors it wasn’t the only one. An undefined market, the lack of a major unique selling point, poor marketing, etc all played their role.

There is also the factor that many don’t want to admit that the console and its design overall was not all that great. The dual screen didn’t really offer much improvements in gaming for the majority of gamers and therefore lost its only excuse to be acceptably weaker than its competitors (whilst having a higher price point than the Wii).

I’m glad the Wii U was made as it continued Nintendo’s past of offering something unique against its competitors but the console was most valuable to Nintendo in the lessons learnt from it.

Even for someone that is not an expert in marketing business, it was obvious that the Wii U marketing was a disaster from the beginning to the end.

Partially, I'd say the massive game droughts were just as much of an issue if not larger though with August and September 2018 being empty outside of the Xenoblade 2 DLC I wonder if Nintendo's learnt their lesson on that front.

Errm... dòh?

I've never bought the gamepad-wii-accessory argument. If people thought it was a Wii accessory then they would have looked into it and found out about the Wii U. If they didn't think the gamepad as an accessory was desirable then why would the think the Wii U was desirable?

@Rhaoulos Yep you've nailed it. 100% correct.

Also Nintendo never really knew what to do with their 2nd screen idea. The public was never convinced about its merits either. Outside of ZombiU and LEGO City there were not many good uses for it.
But the WiiU had to exist for the almighty Switch to exist I guess.

It's true. I felt they would be successful at the reveal because of the marketing. The name, logo, and sound all went together. Sound I think is the hardest but if you get people to match a sound to your product it's gold.

I used to work at a job with plenty of young gamers and it seemed none of them knew of the Wii U's existence. Now I work with gamers of all ages, most are actually over 40, and they ALL own or plan to own a Switch.

Not again... please...

One of the biggest problems was the naming of the system. A LOT of people thought the gamepad was just an expensive accessory to the original Wii. They should have named it "Super Wii" imo. At least the consumer would have understood it was a brand new system.

Also, looking back on it the gamepad was an absolute failure. They should have packaged the pro controller instead of the gamepad and priced the system accordingly. I bet it would have sold great. A lot of people would have bought it to go alongside their PS4/Xbox One/PC for the exclusives.

This all being said, I enjoy my Wii U. I still play it from time to time because I refuse to double dip on Wii U games on the Switch when I have them already. Only exception I made was Mario Kart 8 Deluxe because I never buy DLC.

"Tell me what the Wii U proposition was in 10 words or less."

Asymmetric play — Oh right, ok, I see the point.

This is stating the obvious. The Wii U could never get out of it's funk because people didn't know why they should care about it. Game droughts right out of the gate certainly didn't help either. Marketing was basically absent. But their worst crime was never really figuring out what to do with the second screen. There were a lot of games that never used the gamepad at all, aka Tropical Freeze, Mario Kart 8 (besides using a map or honking a horn). Star Fox Zero made the best use of it, and it was hampered by not having enough power and the results were disappointing cause things just looked so sparse/empty in that game.

One thing I'll give them credit for with the initial reveal of the Switch, is the marketing was about as perfect as you could ask for. Everyone understood what it was (generally speaking). And Nintendo was able to salvage the Wii U's best feature — playing on the gamepad while someone else used the tv. I can't tell you how convenient the Switch is in that regard, especially cause it can be taken anywhere in the house. I wish Nintendo had more first party games coming until Pokemon and Smash, but the momentum should get them through, and hopefully releases are a bit more steady after 2018 wraps up.

@FX102A Well said

I think this is a topic that really has been beaten to death at this point. But the Wii U failed, like people have said, because of bad advertising, and bad branding. It wasn't quite a Wii, it wasn't quite it's own thing, and the game pad looked like a fisher price toy.

I do still hold that the core idea of the Wii U could have worked, but they would have needed to rework a lot.
1. Advertising needed to be better
2. Branding needed to be clearer (Not Wii U but some other, unique name)
3. The Gamepad needed to be a lot better, both visually, and functionally. It needed to have a modern touch screen that supported 720p, the battery needed to be better, and the range of the tablet needed to be better. They should have made the system able to connect to your router, allowing you to play anywhere in your home. Or the system itself should have been powerful enough to support the game pad even through walls. But had they done all that, we might still be enjoying the Wii U today.

@Rhaoulos 100% agree they just confused the hell out of everyone. that and the tablet should have been optional.

The problems of Wii-U was few games, the console dont had a focus and each game needed be coded to work in the second screen individualy, not being a automatcly feature of the console. Was even more problems. I loved my Wii-U, but I admit was a lot of mistakes by nintendo.

Wii U had marketing? That's news to me.

Wii u failed because only the Nintendo fans did their research and bought a Wii u, they were smart enough to realise that it wasn’t a Wii accessory.

"Tell me what the Wii U proposition was in 10 words or less."

A solution desperately looking for a problem.

Now you're playing with a map on a second screen.

Nintendo trying way too hard to be the kooky one.

I've got loads Reggie.

Never liked the pad which was a shame as I quite liked the system.

The name was its downfall more than any other factor, most casual gamers thought it was an add-on. I actually stopped a parent from buying a Wii U game around xmas when I was shopping because they thought it would work on the Wii....

There were a number of problems with the Wii U, but the muddy marketing message was definitely the worst. Yeah, the system could have used more games, but even when it got games the system didn't sell because no body wanted the system. The Switch has games, but Nintendo also remembered to show people the advantages of the system outside of the games.

I've had dozens of people over at my house, looking at my Wii U and saying: "Hey, you've got a Wii!"

Anecdotal, I know, but still very much proof af the terrible marketing and branding of the product.

I still enjoy it more to turn on my Wii U than the Switch.

Marketing was my complaint all during the WiiU's lifespan and there has been a noticeable improvement. It sucks that it is hard to find the marketing campaign that works. They aren't one size fits all (especially for a multi cultural product). I'm glad they are finding the space for the Switch.

Nintendo is definitely doing better with the Switch, though there are still some things that could be improved upon.

E3 demonstrated that the strategy is not cohesive. The pacing was bad - 25 minutes on one game, while blasting through a list of other games. Sales are supposed to drive purchases, so why not mention the E3 sale in the presentation? No linking with the later Splatoon MyNintendo cover. No showing the amiibo until the Treehouse. Ridley is likely to be popular. Some games coming soon not covered. No coverage of games coming releasing in the next financial year, which limited what people think the console is going to be able to deliver. No mention of online service.

There are good games and experiences coming, but Nintendo isn't doing everything it could to transmit that message.

I still prefer my Wii U over my Switch.

Take off all the Wii U games, all the indies, all the ports from PS360, all the ports of PS4/XBOXONE... What's left ?

The Switch has basically "no games", I mean REAL SWITCH GAMES.

In almost a year and half, the system has only Kingdom Battle and Xenoblade 2(which is a disgrace compare to the previous episodes).

It's always a surprise for me when I hear people saying that the Switch have a lot of games.

Zelda BOTW > Wii U
MarioKart 8 > Wii U
Bayonetta 2 > Wii U
Hyrule Warriors > Wii U
Lego City > Wii U
Pokken > Wii U
Captain Toad > Wii U
Rayman Legends > Wii U
Splatoon 1.5 > Wii U
DC Tropical Freeze > Wii U

Basically, the fans like me who supported the Wii U from the beginning are litterally screwed by Nintendo. Nice isn't it ? :/

Wii U failed, out of the gate damn near save for the first 2 months of early adopters, for the following reasons. In order.

1) Confusing dual screen gaming with an unapproachable and generally displeasing controller.

2) The sheer fact you couldn't take the controller out of the room of the console.

3) The Wii branding leading to customer confusion and general disdain from the gaming population. By the time 2012 rolled around, people were by and large done with anything 'Wii'.

The failure of the Wii U falls entirely on Iwata's shoulders.

It's totally true. But... maaaan... I love my WiiU, and I totally wish I could somehow do dual-screen action on my Switch.

I think the problem with the Wii U was that the casual market the Wii had targeted had moved on to mobile games around the time it came out.

@Cobalt Ports kickstart a system. Last year we got ARMS, Splatoon 2(not 1.5), Kingdom Battle and more.
Look at the future of the system too. Pokèmon Let's Go, Smash 5, Super Mario Party and Metroid Prime 4. Please don't tell me Smash 5 is just Smash 4 with extra characters.

Mixture of Wii branding being stale and a name that makes it sound like an accessory.

The marketing failure started by not deciding who the console was aimed at. They wanted to sell the Wii U to everyone but different groups need different hardware, different games and different messages through advertising.

This is why their message was muddled. They didn’t know what it needed to be.

The Wii U could have been moderately successful if it had been pitched as a pure party machine but it would have needed a lot to get it to that point (cheaper games and MK 8 in year one for a start).

It could also have been moderately successful as a core gamers machine but not with the specs it had and not without fighting much harder to attract an audience for 3rd party games. It couldn’t ever have been successful as both a party machine and a core gamers machine at the same time.

@Grumblevolcano Monster Hunter is releasing in August. I know it’s not a first party title but it’s still a big one. (Kinda)

@Matthew010

Sure but what are the best sells on the Switch ?

Basically the Wii U games...sic

So, that's easy to talk about "a lot of great games on the Switch" when those games were done years ago for the previous system.

Gamers are strange, the Wii U was apparently a piece of garbage with no games and now the Switch is great with a lot of great games...

Do you get the problem here ?

And I don't talk about the fact that the Eshop on the Switch is horrible compared to the Wii U one.
I even don't talk about dual screens that dissapeared with the Switch.
I don't talk about the pricing of the accessories on the Switch (joycons, pro controller etc...).
I don't talk neither about the online not free anymore etc...etc...

To my perspective, the Wii U is more valuable than the Switch.

I respect your way of thinking but yes, for me Smash 5 is an update version of Smash Wii U.

I even think that what we have now with Mario Tennis Aces is what it was plan to be for Mario Tennis Ultra Smash on Wii U... They just stopped the developement on the Wii U and sold an unfinished product without any remorses.

The message is clearer and clearer for me. Switch sells on hype not on facts.

@kurtasbestos Yeah, we still have our Wii U hooked up. Believe it or not, Nintendo Land was perfect for our family and remains the best use of the GamePad, I think. We played Nintendo Land games for years together.

Just like the Wii U hardware and marketing had some critical flaws, Nintendo Land had the critical flaw of completely bizarre theming and appearance. I mean, we liked it eventually, but was it an amusement park? Well, yes, but a super weird one, and that made everything sort of intentionally (sometimes charmingly) fake. What we consider their best experience on the system was just crazy looking and not going to appeal to many.

It may be that the hand held part of the Switch is a lot more portable than the Wii u handheld screen. And the inaccurate advertising about what the Wii u could do.

The Switch is also much better than the Wii U. It has better games and a more interesting concept, in my opinion.

@Cobalt
I can respect your point of view on this. You feel like Nintendo abandoned you when you remained faithful, but it couldn't continue. It's like opening up a big restaurant on a street corner and a few people show up every day and spend money on every new deal and promotion. Can't keep the business running, though. Too much overhead.

I'm just happy they found a new "location", so we can get games they are willing to pump huge investment into and not keep scrambling to find a way to make money with a small user base it could not grow (mobile, stretch 3DS lifecycle, cut budgets on games mid development)

The Switch is like a Wii U reboot in its first year and it was not only necessary, but beneficial to every Nintendo fan eventually. Those great games on the Wii U are now getting play by a larger group and their investments are paying off.

Another way of thinking about ports. On the Wii U, those great games you love were not making enough money to justify more of the same type of game. That means less confidence in those games you like, less chance of similar games that you like being made. Now that they have had this second life on Switch, they are proving successful and Nintendo is encouraged to make the types of games you like.

@Kimyonaakuma Heh, I recall some people claiming Wii comercials were "cringe" but that hadn't hurt the console.

But I can say I don't even recall -any- WiiU commercial in my province(Quebec, french speaking part of Canada) whereas the Switch's were everywhere and so was the regular Wii's prior to the WiiU.

Edit: This said one clear thing I can say of the Switch is how fantastic the 2017 lineup was. I look at some comments from retail stores, and Zelda:BOTW and Mario Odyssey have been such strong titles that they managed to carry the console even in the current lower pace of releases we've had in 2018. So 2017 was so strong it still manage to pick up the slack of 2018 to fuel the sale of new consoles from people purchasing it one year later after seeing if 2017 would be good enough to warrant purchasing it the year after. In a way, this likely more than make up for the early 2018 "slowdown" of releases for Nintendo, and perhaps even justify it, because there were still people out there buying the console for it's 2017.

Makes me wonder if the 2018 slowdown is almost not something semi-intentional, to try and make sure the new owners of the consoles wouldn't be flooded when still playing the 2017 titles they just purchased in 2018. This might indeed predict a 2019 stronger than 2018 to desserves both the people who felt 2018 was a "drought" and the people who only got their Switch in 2018 and -just- finished playing the big releases of 2017 despite buying the console one year "late".

While the WiiU marketing didn't help, I don't think the Switch success is due to Nintendo having done "clearer" marketing. If that's their conclusion about why the Switch is selling great, then they only show that they still have NO CLUE about what consumers want, and that the Switch, like the original Wii, seems to be some sort of random success for them.

The reason the Switch sells great, well, in part, is because it is a well-made product that has a feature people wanted since some time, which is console gaming on the go AND to have a unified library between home console and portable console (which is solved by both being unified into a single unit). Your home console is also your handheld one. Bring it with you everywhere.

It's well built, and has a nice library. Also, it launched with very good games too.

So, sure, marketing for it didn't suck. And wasn't confusing like the WiiU was. But then again, if Nintendo pinpoints the reason for the Switch success as "it's not the WiiU", then they haven't really learned anything IMO....

You know, I work in marketing. Maybe I can give them some help? lol!

@Rhaoulos The "incredible lineup" they had was just Wii U games. Zelda botw, Mario kart 8, Tropical freeze, etc.

@Cobalt I pretty much completely agree. It shocks me how many people say it's because of the Switches year one great games. Practically all those games are just Wii U games. And those same people double down and say the Wii U had no good games or few games....

For years I've been saying their main issue was marketing. I'm glad they finally admitted it.

All the games are great, that's why they've done so well with the switch although 80% of first party games are just ports. The only difference is the Wii U had more functionality because of the second screen. Heck as I've said before Zelda BOTW had to be made worse, removed the tablet map and other features, on the Wii U because it would have made the Switch version look bad. Or at least look like the lesser version it was.

I would also add a better lineup to the reasons behind the Switch’s success over the Wii U. BotW and Odyssey >>>>>>>>>> The Wii U’s first 2 years of games combined.

So, the Wii U in 10 words or less:
"We know what we want...the technology isn't there yet."

I cheated with the contraction, but, I believe they always wanted to get to a Switch like device, but could not do it 6+ years ago. When Nvidia introduced the Shield, they must have leaped, seeing that they (Nintendo) wouldn't have to do all the tech development on their own.

The Wii U was a fail when it was revealed. As a Nintendo Fanboy even I was confused. I had to do research to even figure out if it was a new console. That there tells you need to focus on your advertising. They should have changed gears immediately when they saw the confusion, and somehow they didn't. They focused on the controller so much they forgot to mention it was a new console.

@Bliquid your right. That’s really smart

Wii U marketing would have to exist in the first place in order for it to be bad. Nintendo just never seemed to care about promoting the thing. Seeing a commercial for Wii U or one of its games was like seeing a unicorn, from my experience.

Oh well, I’m just glad they seem to be aware of the existence of their current system and actually want the thing to succeed.

@Bolt_Strike

Not agree at all because Zelda BOTW is a Wii U game so now imagine that the next console will get ports of Zelda BOTW Xenoblade X and 2, Kingdom Battle, MarioKart 8 etc...

What are you going to say ? 1st year better than the entire lifespan of the Switch ? Really ?

I'm sorry but I even find Super Mario 3D World better than Odyssey.
Yes, I'm one of the few who think that Odyssey is wayyyy to much overated. Not a bad game but an average Mario game to my point of view.

I'm almost convinced if 3D world was released on the Switch it'll get all of those ridiculous 10/10. In reverse, if Odyssey was a Wii U title, gamers and gaming websites would say " mehhh not bad but not as good as.... so 7/10 or 8/10".

Period.

Can you really call the Wii U a failure when most of the games on the Switch are Wii U system games?

The sales of the system were definitely low, however the system itself and games were great and even outstanding.

@electrolite77

Zelda BOTW
Captain Toad
Donkey Kong Tropical Freeze
Zombi U
Bayonetta 2
The Wonderful 101
Super Mario Maker
Devil's Third
Yoshi Wooly World
Splatoon
Mario Kart 8
Super Smash Bros
Xenoblade Chronicle X
Project Zero V
Starfox Zero
Tokyo Mirage Sessions
Lego City Undercover
Hyrule Warriors
Pokken Tournament
Nintendoland
Paper Mario Color Splash
Sonic Lost World
Fast Racing Neo
Kirby paintbrush
Monster Hunter Ultimate
etc...

WII U GAMES meaning FROM THE WII U NOT from the Wii !

And I'm gonna add that THE ENTIRE catalogue of the Wii was instantly readable on the Wii U. NO NEED TO REBUY THE SAME GAMES AGAIN !

Wii U powned the Switch in term of REAL exclusives, PERIOD !

The problem with Wii U where many things. For me it was an awesome and unique console. But when I was at a store many people did not know what the WiiU was. Some said it was a extra accessory for the wii.... Then i as a costumer had to explain what it was lol....

@Haywired If they sold it as "map on a second screen" it would have sold like hot cakes. THe problem was they didn't and wanted it to be something other than that but didn't know what. heck PC gamers have craved for RTS's that use the second screen and got all of 2. That idea would have sold if they marketed that. Not just to consumers but to devs.

Poor WiiU. It was a good console, but launching another PPC console when the industry was just about to leave PPC behind right when the developers were gearing up for the PC twins launch a year later and flushing out the last of their PPC pipeline....it's not the Wii name, it's not the Fisher Price looking pad, it's the fact that it arrived at the station right around when the last express train pulled out before the scheduled implosion of the tunnel and it was stuck on the other side.

@Cobalt
I feel ya. I feel the exact same way. Which is why I only have 5 games on my switch, none of which are ports. Well, except for Breath of the Wild

Here you go Reggie - "A concept for our next console"

That's 6 , I have 4 left - I love my switch

I bought the Wii u and it never sat well with me , I felt like the gamepad was a hurdle between me and the games , I'm sure others really enjoyed it.

Wiiu a failure, never! Mine makes a great doorstop and dinner tray now.

@gcunit

Funnily enough my nephew has had mine since I got my Switch and absolutely loves it...

@NEStalgia
I really don't think selling the "map on a second screen" aspect as the Wii U's killer app would have made it sell like hot cakes. The whole "map on a second screen" feature was probably the saddest aspect of the Wii U. In that such a trivial and redundant feature was being pushed as mind-blowing innovation. You pause the game to look down at a map on a second screen and then back up again, instead of just pausing the game to look at the screen you were already looking at. Unless you've got two sets of eyes, it makes no difference. The people round here who were saying that they could "never go back to playing games without a map on a second screen!" are the same people who of course now think the Switch is the "best thing ever!", so I guess it wasn't that important to them after all... Maybe you're right and RTS gamers would have liked such a feature, but that's a pretty niche audience, especially on Nintendo systems. What console has ever sold like hot cakes by solely appealing to RTS gamers?

@Powerballad

I think that the gamepad was really comfortable, espacially with the shape of the under part.
In reverse, I feel that the flat shape of the Switch is not confortable at all.

And the buttons and stick layout...GOD who the hell designed that ? Who ? Just not good at all if you don't have the hands of a 4 years old kid...

And I pray night and day for a freaking REAL directionnal pad !
I understand why they put simple buttons instead but it's just a pain to play like that... At least the gamepad have a real directionnal pad ! ;D

@Cobalt Difference in opinions but fair enough, I just didn't enjoy the experience , it made me feel somewhat detatched.

The switch isn't perfect as you point out, but IMO it's a step up from the gamepad with regards to controller functionality. I actually use the seperate joycon alot when away from home , so I'd take them over a second screen personally.

@electrolite77

you're answer is so pathetic that I even don't give you the honour to get a reply from me...

Protip just for you : Use your brain, it's freakin' helpful

@Powerballad

Totally understand your point ! The most important is to have fun !
So whatever, have fun !

I actually would have bought a Wii U, but already owned a Wii and just couldn't justify buying into a whole console upgrade for pretty little gain. If the price had dropped enough, I might have done it because I really like the second screen idea (or just being able to use that screen to play games when someone else is watching TV). I also like the ability for the WiiU to play Wii games - no need to invest in those again or buy them again for the new system. But the naming/marketing were probably the worst part. Many thought of it as a minor upgrade to the Wii (or an accessory) and few saw a good reason to get it instead of a Wii, which had a pretty huge set of games. But still, backwards compatibility + ability to play not on the TV were big pros to me. Cost - not so much.

Like others have pointed out, it's more than just marketing that went wrong with the wii u. It's the fact that the wii u was straight up a bad product to begin with. Even if you bought one it was too expensive, lacked third party support, had multiple month long droughts between games with the last 2 years of the wii u having some of the worst games release on that system (like amiibo festival and ultra smash).

In addition the gamepad had a cheap plastic quality to it with a poor battery life. You could never shut off the gamepad. The system itself was slow even after updates. The eshop was cumbersome to use in terms of updates and downloadable content. The system had limited internal storage. The list goes on.

I'm glad that the wii u failed and Nintendo learned those painful lessons so that they hopefully never eff up as bad again

@Haywired RTS's and RPGs definitely benefit from not switching to a map (and the touch inventory for RPGs was ideal.) It definitely had some hardcore appeal, but it was underused. Splatoon 2 feels kind of stilted without the map always open.....it was critical to not switch the action above to check the map. I find I NEVER check the map in S2 as a result: can't afford the required time.

Marketing definitely made a difference, but seriously Nintendo needs to rly not forgot what made Switch HOT was BOTW hype and that the hardware "gimmick" this time was compelling when matched with that launch game....yes all communicated thru marketing...but they need to not continually try to recreate this moment with things like LABO, that harken back to the classic Nintendo, "this idea who have is so effing clever, but the software just doesn't engage you". Focus company resources on making MORE AMAZING games first - on time and not delayed - then do your blue sky stuff. So many games last year, at the very least IMPROVED on something in their iteration - that continued to make the system hot. Games this year all seem to have this huge BUT or ALMOST attached to them or they're a port or they're delayed into next year. Kirby, LABO, Mario Party, Pokemon and even Smash to an extent al have BUT.

Switch success is due to the Switch being frigging awesome

@electrolite77
BotW, MK8, Pokken Tournament, Fire emblem warriors, Captain toad, dragon quest builders, Bayonetta 2, Hyrule warriors, dk tropical freeze... The list goes on for first party ports. But I guess they also have 12 switch and Splatoon 2... Which I think is very close to a port because they literally stopped the planned updates for Splatoon so they could release the planned content for Wii U on the switch and call it a "new game".

@Bliquid lol.

Alot of silly comments. One major thing people forget is the CONCERTED AND WIDESPREAD Wii U MEDIA AND GAMER HATE campaign across the gaming world. Gamers hated the Wii's success and wanted Nintendo brought down. There wasn't a website that didn't spout Wii U hate, mix that with non existent advertising and you have a perfect blend of a failed launch.

The same nearly happened to Nintendo Switch but DIGITAL FOUNDRY single handedly saved it in time.

It is certainly true that had the Wii U been called something else, had the advertising been a lot more appealing, had the Wii Pad been an optional accessory instead of a mandatory add on, the Wii U would have sold 30 to 40 million units... But 40m would be the max and even that would be a stretch.

So that said, there's 2 things to consider here:

1 - with all the conditions being met, 40m sales is not a success, certainly not when you consider the success of the Wii, 40m would be a drastic drop in form none the less.

2 - the Switch at 17.8m as of end of April is still a long way off success, there is still a lack of 3rd party support but this is still negligible as Nintendo themselves are doing a good job plus a strong Indie presence and the trickle of 3rd party support is enough to see the console through.

What is missing from the Switch is Multimedia functionalities and a solid online infrastructure, this is a huge problem going forward, without this the Switch will be lucky to sell 50m and at this point anything below 80m wont be considered success.

Has Nintendo learned its lesson? Judging by the missing apps and poor online form in general i would say not by a long shot.

This doesn't even include attempting to sell cardboard for ridiculous prices.

People still don't even know that the Wii U existed, or if they did, they didn't know it was its own console. Everyone thought it was an overpriced add-on for the Wii.
I think they'd have sold twice as many units if they'd just named it something else. Even something as lazy as "Super Wii" would have been better.

I love my Wii U, but once you go from holding the Switch in handheld mode to the Wii U gamepad, the difference is amazing. The gamepad feels like a Fisher-Price toy in comparison.

The Wii U had marketing?

The Switch is simply a better designed console. The Wii U might have had a chance if they sold it without the gimmicky tablet but that tablet killed it. It made the console too expensive for what it offered and too bogged down by it's gimmick. The Switch succeeds because it simply works a lot better, the whole home console/portable console thing is a great idea.

Maybe its marketing. For me the Wii U look like a toy. I went to the store, tried it out. Thought - its look like a toy not a console. Never considered buying one again.
But the switch look like a trendy console. And i love handheld console. Was a day 1 buy.

@Cheez I disagree, I've seen many people and a vast majority praise how well the Wii U games were, but the console itself was BAD and games just didn't thrive at all there, as well as terrible 3rd party support. The switch is the reason these great Wii U games are selling and taking off. Also while the switch may not have the best 3rd party support, you can't tell the current support it has is worst than what it used to be.

The switch is a godsend for Nintendo and many gamers and that's why I disagree with sentiments like yours. These wii u ports you guys look down upon are completely new to non wii u owners which is a lot. Other consoles in every new generation do this, so why can't Nintendo port these great games from a failed console and get praise for it?

@Cheez
Wii U ports. It's like having a portable version with all DLC included of the best games from a failed system.
And you can't consider BotW as a Wii U game.
I had a Wii U but I enjoyed that console so little, I didn't even bother buying MK8, DKC or captain toad.

@electrolite77

You just need to level up to have a talk with me, that's all kido !

@Rhaoulos

Zelda Breath of the Wild IS A WII U GAME PORT TO THE SWITCH !
Not the opposite...

@electrolite77 all the games I listed we're published by Nintendo. But your probably right Donkey Kong although a Nintendo franchise published by Nintendo wasn't developed in house. But to be more literal I guess I should say most games published by Nintendo on the switch the first year it was out were just Wii U ports.

@Cobalt
Wrong.

The game started development on the Wii U but development shifted to Switch 2 years prior to its release. They stripped it from all its Wii U game pad gimmicks so people would have no reason to prefer the Wii U version to the Switch one.

So technically it is not a port, and it is not the other way around. because it was released on both platform at the same time with the exact same functionalities. Eiji Aonuma even said they chose not to use HD Rumble so there would be no difference between Switch and Wii U apart from graphics and sound design.

In the end, it was just a game that was partially developed with the Wii U in mind.

@Rhaoulos

WRONG !

If you think one minute that the Eiji's team finished both Wii U and Switch version at the time, excuse me but you're a beautiful ingenuous dude...

Zelda BOTW was ready almost a year before but They have to put it on hold to wait for the Switch version... They even thought of not releasing the Wii U version for a time...
Fans especially in Europe were so pissed when that rumour came out, that they started to put some forums on fire.

I can talk about certeties at least for french websites such as Gamekult, JeuxVideo.com and Gameblog.

All the ground of Breath of the Wild code, all the assets etc... come from the Wii U and you even have an interview with Aonuma around the launch explaining that if there are some framerate issues on the Switch version (and they appear not at the same moments than the ones in the Wii U version) that's because the game come from the Wii U and they had to adapt everything to the Switch.

Meaning that IF Zelda was made from the ground to the Switch, they could have gotten better results.

@electrolite77
Google List of Nintendo Switch games and List of Wii U games on Wikipedia. You will find 4 non-ported Nintendo developed Switch games in the first year of it's existence and 11 for the Wii U. But feel free to double check my counting. Also I was looking at NA release dates and just used mid Nov 2012 as the Wii U launch and Mid March as the Switch launch.

At first, I misread this title as: "Nintendo Says Switch Successor Is Due To Clear Marketing..." and was about to be upset.

I don't think Nintendo can be praised for clear marketing on Switch. It is the opposite imo. With WiiU probably it was even worse but the real difference is that Switch as a console is great, it is absolutely a fantastic device (too bad Nintendo is preventing it to be as good as it could be with all the missing features and the online subscription) and the Wii U was a convoluted mess, a wreck that was nothing but painful to use, the most stupid concept possible for a console, and also with games that yes were ok, but not as good as the ones for the previous consoles.

I'll give the WiiU thing a shot:
"Disconnected. Please move the WiiU Gamepad closer to the console."

@Matthew010 and all the others who believe that SMASH BROS ULTIMATE is A NEW GAME !!! LOL

Sakurai HIMSELF tells you the truth :

quote : " First, I was faced with a decision: create a completely new game system, or build off of pre-existing ones. I went with the latter "

https://sourcegaming.info/2018/06/20/smash-is-special-part-1-sakurais-famitsu-column-vol-557/

So what now ? You're gonna tell me that the interview is fake ?

Incredible how fanboys aren't able to just think normal !

No I disagree. The Wii U lost the console war because at that time everyone was going crazed about graphics power and honestly the Wii U couldn't handle the hype surrounding PS4 and XBOX One. Add to that that third party companies were complaining about the difficulty of writing code and developing Wii U games and then you'll understand why eventually the successor of the Wii failed. However to my eyes it didn't fail but it could do so much more. It did get amazing first and third party titles: Super Mario 3D World, Xenoblades Chronicles X, Donkey Kong Tropical Freeze, Watchdogs, Zombie U, COD Ghosts, LOZ Breath of The Wild. Not to mention you get all the library of the Wii!